Full Plate of Microsoft Patches Expected

Patch this coming Tuesday brings 10 new fixes to Microsoft products.

Microsoft will soon release 10 security bulletins to shore up security weaknesses in its product line, officials announced on their security site Thursday.

The patches cover several products in the Redmond, Wash., software company's offerings, including critical updates to the Windows operating systems. More details about the vulnerabilities will be addressed in Microsoft's monthly patch update Tuesday.

Officials will not be releasing any high-priority updates that do not cover security issues through its Microsoft Update, Windows Update, Windows Server Update Services or Software Update Services.

Seven security bulletins address the Windows operating system alone, five of which will be detectable using the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) and two using the company's Enterprise Scanning Tool (EST). The three remaining security bulletins can be detected using either the MBSA or EST.

One of the bulletins addresses a security vulnerability found in both the Windows OS and Windows Services for Unix, with a moderate impact, officials said. An important-rated bulletin will fix a vulnerability found in Microsoft Exchange, while the last bulletin deals with vulnerabilities found in the company's Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) server and Small Business Server (SBS). The highest threat level for patches to the ISA and SBS is moderate.

A Webcast detailing the security vulnerabilities and their fixes will air Wednesday.

Microsoft also plans to update its Malicious Software Removal Tool to a new version Tuesday, available for download using Windows Update, Microsoft Update, Windows Server Update Services and at the Microsoft download center.

Microsoft issues security patches to the community on the second Tuesday of the month to make it easier for systems administrators to update company systems.

The number of patches addressed in its security bulletins varies month to month. In May, the company only released one security bulletin while the month before it released eight.